Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), master developer of major tourism, cultural and residential destinations announced today the appointment of Brendan Law, Director of Education at TDIC, as the Headmaster of Cranleigh Abu Dhabi. While Law oversees all educational development opportunities at TDIC, his primary task has been the establishment of Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, which will open its doors to students in September 2014. He was previously Headmaster of Westbourne House School, Chichester, UK, and Founding Headmaster of Brighton College, Abu Dhabi.

Based on the ethos and curriculum of Cranleigh School, a leading UK independent school founded in 1865, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi will be the first school campus on Saadiyat. Its academic curriculum will emphasise on the individual; allowing students to explore their full range of talents in fine arts, performing arts, music, sports and cultural activities. Cranleigh Abu Dhabi will be formally introduced to the Abu Dhabi community by a launch event on November 12, 2013 at the St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, which will showcase Cranleigh’s 147 years of educational excellence and what it will be bringing to the Emirate.

“I am delighted to be appointed as Headmaster and look forward to working closely with Cranleigh School to ensure that our pupils reap the benefits of our top-quality educational programme. With a class average of just 18, our focus will very much be on the children. I also look forward to working closely with a first class team, which we will recruit in the next several months, to help our pupils realise their full potential in mind, body and spirit. Registration opens on November 13, 2013 for children aged three – 14 (Foundation Stage 1 – Year 9). I can’t wait to meet them all through the Admissions process, as well as welcoming each student and their families, to the school once we open in September 2014,” said Law, Headmaster of Cranleigh Abu Dhabi.

The school is scheduled to be delivered in phases with the first phase in time for the start of the academic school year in 2014. Built over seven hectares of land, with a capacity to accommodate more than 1,600 students, aged from three to 18 years, the school will be one of the largest school campuses in the emirate with open green spaces, extensive landscaping and an ambient environment. In addition, it will host co-educational facilities comprising separate Junior and Senior schools with each housing its own classrooms, faculty offices, administration offices, dining hall and library.

Cranleigh Abu Dhabi will house specialist facilities for music, science, art, design and technology, drama, dance, and sport classes, as well as state-of-the-art IT facilities for pupils. These will be complemented by a shared 650-seat auditorium, sports centre and outdoor fields with generously spacious recreational areas. The sporting facilities will include two grass pitches, an Astroturf pitch, tennis courts, swimming pools and an indoor arena comprising of two full-sized courts, which can be used for basketball, football, badminton, gymnasium, dance studio and drama suite.

The school will also offer boarding facilities – a first for the emirate. Various boarding arrangements in purpose-built houses – separate for males and females – will be offered, including full-boarding as well as individualised day and weekly boarding options.

Located next to Manarat Al Saadiyat and the UAE Pavilion in the Saadiyat Cultural District, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi will be one of the premier educational institutions located on Saadiyat that include New York University Abu Dhabi, which will open in 2014, and Redwood Saadiyat Nursery by Kids First Group – providing all educational levels from pre-school to university on the island. In addition, students will be able to take advantage of the great cultural opportunities available as a result of the school’s strategic location, especially those presented by the island’s renowned museums.